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Thread: How to drill a neat hole in pine
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18th January 2011, 10:46 AM #1GOLD MEMBER
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How to drill a neat hole in pine
Can anyone please advise how I should drill a neat hole in pine?
I used a 5mm brad point drill bit with double flute ( yes, it is very sharp, as witnessed by the 12mm long cut along my finger removing it from the case in a hurry), but when I drilled pine using a drill press, the opening was often rough, with bits of tearout and bits not cut on the lip.
So I then drilled lightly with a countersink bit- not much improvement, as the attached photo shows
Can anyone please suggest a better way of doing this? I don't really need the countersink opening, but will if necessary to get a neat hole openingregards,
Dengy
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18th January 2011, 10:58 AM #2Senior Member
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Have you checked your drill press for runout? Normally when using a good brad point drill bit the entry is not so much a problem than the exit which is rectified by having a sacrificial piece of wood under the piece you are drilling to avoid tearout. Perhaps you could check using a hand drill and perhaps another bit to eliminate the drill bit also.
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18th January 2011, 11:16 AM #3Novice
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Try a "normal" drill bit, Pine is prone to tear-out. Or position a waste bit of wood above your piece so it cops all the tear-out.
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18th January 2011, 11:28 AM #4
Forstner bit? They make an excellent clean entry but labour a bit in deep holes.
Andy Mac
Change is inevitable, growth is optional.
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18th January 2011, 11:29 AM #5
Try sticking a piece of masking tape on the surface where the hole is to be drilled. usually prevents tear-out. You could also try starting off with a smaller drill bit and work your way up to the desired size. If there is still a bi of tear-out you could just lights use a counter sink bit to smooth the edges of the hole if you don't' mind the counter sunk appearance.
Reality is no background music.
Cheers John
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18th January 2011, 11:40 AM #6
I just did a test piece on pine with the suggestions I made above and the sticky tape came out ahead. no tear-out.. I used an ordinary drill bit.
Reality is no background music.
Cheers John
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18th January 2011, 12:00 PM #7
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18th January 2011, 12:10 PM #8
Hey Jill,
As said above, I use a waste piece top and bottom, when I need to use pine, for the fellows saying use a Forstner Bit, I haven't seen one smaller than 6mm, does your job have to be 5mm ?
Good luck.
HazzaBIt's Hard to Kick Goals, When the Ba^$%##ds Keep moving the Goal Posts.
Check out my Website www.harrybutlerdesigns.com.au
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18th January 2011, 02:01 PM #9GOLD MEMBER
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many thanks everyone, there are some really good suggestions there.
Unfortunately I do need a 5mm bit, so that rules out the Forstner.
I like the idea of a sacrificial piece above the timber - that seems to suit my situation best - I will actually make a template of the holes I need and have that sitting above, clamped to the workpiece.
Fortunately I don't have to drill through the timber, just 75% of the depthregards,
Dengy
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18th January 2011, 02:57 PM #10Senior Member
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I like the idea of a sacraficial piece on top as well as the bottom. I just keep learning something new! What a great hobby.
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18th January 2011, 06:52 PM #11
Hi Jill
A backing board is the general rule, but I additionally do the following for clean holes. These should be used together ..
1. S-s-s-sharp drill bits. I cannot emphasise this enough. I use a Drill Doctor. Previously I would freehand them on a disk sander.
2. Use a drill press rather than a hand-held drill. Any wobble will leave the top with an oval hole.
3. Start from a mark using an awl. A pencil point is not enough as the drill will wander. If you wish you can also use paper tape over the mark (tape first, then mark on the tape).
4. The first drill bit should be a pilot, starting in your case with a 3mm. any tearout at this stage will be removed later.
5. Once you have a pilot hole you can drill from both sides of the piece. Drill halfway, then reverse the board. It is often adviable to creep up on your desired bit size, so you could go 3-4-5mm.
6. A countersink is very useful to clean up an edge (other than obviously as a countersink for a screw). The issue is that a drill will spin these too fast, and if you are using a handheld drill, then the problem of centering it and keeping it that way will be additive. I use an eggbeater or brace (handpower), which offers much more control, and the slow speed means you can create a fine chamfer. It is also possible to do this by hand (stick the countersink into a handle like a chisel).
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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18th January 2011, 07:17 PM #12
What speed is your drill spinning at? Providing your drill is as sharp as it should be, you could crank the speed right up for a 5mm bit. It's highly doubtful a sharp bit will burn the pine even at high speed. I would also opt for a regular style bit (without a viper bit grind).
Tom.
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18th January 2011, 07:59 PM #13
I to would suggest that speed, or lack there of, might be the issue. What speed are you using?
CheersThere ain't no devil, it's just god when he's drunk!!
Tom Waits
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19th January 2011, 11:27 AM #14GOLD MEMBER
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Success!! Yessss!!!
Yes, I have success, largely thanks to Derek's comprehensive post above
There were two keys to my success using a drill press, which runs at 280 rpm:
1. A sharp drill. I ditched the brad point drill bit, too difficult to sharpen, in favour of the twist drill as recommended by Ling1958 and munruben above.
One of the cutting edges on my twist drill bit was a bit burred. Out with the Drill Doctor and sharpen it up - only made a little difference with the upper entry tear out. Tried covering the workpieces with masking tape, duct tape, still no improvement, but I thought the holes looked a bit neater .
Was not game to drill a pilot hole first, as suggested by Derek, as I would not be able to line up the final 5 mm hole, and I have a few hundred holes to drill
But this led on to the 2nd key point:
2. Start the hole very slowly. This made a huge difference to the tearout. All the tearout was done before the bit was fully entered the workpiece, so it was not noticable. Similiar to what Derek was getting at with the pilot hole. Previously I had been virtually punching the 5mm drill bit in to the soft pine timber
On the odd occasion that I forgot to go slowly, the tearout appeared again!!
So, no need for tape or a sacrificial board to drill a neat entry hole in pine.
Thanks Derek, for this lesson in basic woodworking technique, and thanks everyone for all the other suggestions
Brad point drill bits have a long centring tip with two pre-cutting spurs. These spurs score the wood fibres; the internal cutting edges then cut them out cleanly.regards,
Dengy
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19th January 2011, 04:00 PM #15Banned
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Jill , how fast is the drill going ?
The holes that we can see in the pic look to have a faint 'thread' / 'riffling' spiraling down them .
The speed of the machine could be too slow .
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